How To Make Black Lipstick Work For You (And For Halloween)

“Because black is not a colour – technically it’s a shade – there is no undertone, which means it works...

by Sian Ranscombe

In terms of obvious Halloween dressing, black lipstick comes somewhere between devil horns and a witch’s broom. Those wishing to remain chic when heading out this 31 October, however, will be pleased to learn that dark lips no longer need to be achieved with chalky face paint.

Black lipstick has become more and more popular in recent times. Rihanna has sported it on more than one occasion, and sent models including Gigi Hadid down the Fenty x Puma runway wearing it in her autumn/winter 2016 show in New York. In time for this year’s festivities, her Fenty Beauty range has added ‘Uninvited’, a black shade, to its line of Stunna Lip Paints. The original red shade has been tried and tested bythe Bazaar beauty team and it does not shift, so the black shade will be a good bet for a long night out.

Fenty Beauty

But don’t think that you require an A-list pout to pull it off; MAC’s senior artist Dominic Skinner says it is all in the way you wear it. “There is nothing more striking, in my mind, than bold black lips, so it’s important to realise that any other make-up on the face is going to look too much,” says Skinner. “Keep the rest of your look simple with just full lashes and maybe strong brows to balance out the features.”

MAC’s Liptensity collection of extremely intense lip colours features a black shade, Stallion, in the line. Created with the help of the tetrachromat Maureen Seaberg, who was born with the ability to see around 100 million more colours than the average person, the 24-piece range runs from a very wearable rosy pink to the aforementioned Stallion, by way of reds, greys, purples and navy.

Mac Liptensity lipstick in Stallion

If a severe midnight pout seems a little too much for you, Skinner says that it is, surprisingly, one of the few shades that actually suits most people.

“Because black is not a colour – technically it’s a shade – there is no undertone, which means it works with all skin tones,” says Skinner. “If you fear going too dark, you can try deeper shades of your favourite colour. A simple way of doing this is to apply your favourite shade, then press a black lipstick over the top or apply your favourite lipstick to your bottom lip, a black to your top and rub your lips together. Instant autumn/winter chic.”

Getty Images

Another tip we’d suggest is to line the lips fully before applying your lipstick. There is a fine line between striking dark lips and looking as though you’ve had a mishap with a pen, and it comes in the form of a good lip pencil. Try Estée Lauder DoubleWear Stay-in-Place Lip Pencil, approx. RM101.00, for colour that does not budge.